| |
Articles Archive
Articles Index
How To Download Ebooks
by Maggie Lietz - Copyright © 2008
For those of us who do it all the time, how to download ebooks is not a problem. In fact, we pretty much take the task for granted.
For anyone who has never done it before, a simple task like download an ebook can oftentimes be extremely frustrating. I know, because I've been on the phone with people on more than one occasion, talking them through the process.
Believe me, it's a real eye opener. You can actually hear the frustration as the person on the other end of the phone tries desperately to follow the step by step spoken instructions.
Of course, once you've accomplished this kind of task - once you know HOW to do something like download an ebook - it becomes second nature, something you don't have to really think about next time around.
So lets see if we can turn the question, how to download ebook, into an answer anyone can understand.
The first thing you need to realize is that there are two different kinds of ebooks. The one most associated with the term "ebook" is the EXE format. The second, and currently most popular one, is PDF.
Now. Since this is all about how to download ebooks, we won't get into how ebooks are created, what the differences between them are, etc. We'll save that for another discussion. ;)
Right now, let's just concentrate on the download aspect...
Any ebook with an ".exe" extension can be downloaded to your computer simply by clicking on the download link (just like you would any other link).
This brings up a dialog box that will ask if you want to "run" (or "open") the program or "save" it. You ALWAYS want to choose save, which in turn allows you to save the file (ebook) to your own computer.
Once you click on save, it brings up another dialog box. This one lets you decide WHERE on your computer you want to save the file. Use the dropdown menu arrow to select a location.
For those of you who don't have much experience with creating and locating computer folders, it's best to simply save the ebook on your Desktop (so you can find it easily after the download is complete).
For anyone else, it's a good idea to create a folder specifically for downloads. Any time you download something, you put it that folder. That way, there's no question where it went or how to find it.
HINT: Make sure you jot down the name of the file that's being downloaded (so you can identify it). Some ebook owners give them very easy to spot names while others give them a name you would never associate with that particular ebook.
Once you've chosen a location to save the ebook, the download will begin automatically. When the download is complete, you simply navigate to the location where you saved the ebook (on your Desktop or in a special folder).
That takes care of EXE downloads. Next, we've got PDF. And with PDF, you have two choices.
1) If you left click a PDF download link, it will open the PDF in a browser window (just like a web page). Then, once the ebook is open, you can save it to a location on your computer.
2) You can RIGHT CLICK a PDF download link and save the ebook immediately. How? When you right click the link, a menu will appear that allows you to choose "save target as". Then just save it to whatever location on your computer you want (Desktop, special folder).
After the download, you'll want to open your ebook. Navigate to the location where you saved the ebook and look for the name. (You DID jot it down, didn't you?)
If you see an .exe or .pdf extension, you can just double click on the name. If you see a .zip estension, you'll need a utility that can "unzip" the file (the ebook is inside the zip file).
Again, this is about how to download ebooks, not unzip an file, so we won't get into that here and now. If you need more information, you can check out a program like Free Zip Wizard from CoffeeCup.com. Or you can simply conduct a Google search for "free zip program".
Once you unzip the file, you'll be confronted with one of two things. A folder or the ebook itself. If it's the ebook itself, just double click the name to open it. If it's a folder, you'll need to open that folder first.
So there you have it. The question, how to download ebook, is finally explained. And hopefully in a way that even the newest of newbies can understand.
Maggie Lietz
eBookHelper.com
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Maggie Lietz specializes in writing, creating, and publishing ebooks. Plenty of valuable information about ebooks, online business, and Internet marketing is available on her website at http://www.ebookhelper.com. Professional services include website and graphic design, copywriting, and ebook cover images.
Feel free to use the above article in its entirety. All I ask is that you include my "About the Author" resource box. Thanks. Maggie Lietz
For your convenience, we provide copy-and-paste versions of this article in both HTML and plain text (opens in a separate browser window).
Articles Index
|
|
|
|
